Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

businessinsider.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 440 posts

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#31

Post by jxm262 »

mgkimsal wrote: post #28

Had one for about 10 days, returned it for a variety of factors, but overall, it was a nice machine. But for my workload, I think I'll move to a 2015 if I can get the config I want - should be ~ $1000 cheaper for about 95% of the benefit (some weight, some speed, retina screen, etc). $3700 ($3500 + tax) ended up feeling just a bit too much for the speed/value. Apparently, though, if I wait a bit longer, we might see…

32g next year? This is the first I've heard of that. Do you have any references?

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#32

Post by sprite »

mgkimsal wrote: post #28

Had one for about 10 days, returned it for a variety of factors, but overall, it was a nice machine. But for my workload, I think I'll move to a 2015 if I can get the config I want - should be ~ $1000 cheaper for about 95% of the benefit (some weight, some speed, retina screen, etc). $3700 ($3500 + tax) ended up feeling just a bit too much for the speed/value. Apparently, though, if I wait a bit longer, we might see…

I really hope so. The 16gb ram limit is what's keeping me from pulling the trigger on one.

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#33

Post by duggan »

This is an article that (incompletely) summarizes the Consumer Reports article[1]. The reason for the wildly varying performance appears to be due to a bug (presumably) in Safari. They had consistent results with Chrome:

> Once our official testing was done, we experimented by conducting the same battery tests using a Chrome browser, rather than Safari. For this exercise, we ran two trials on each of the laptops, and found battery life to be consistently high on all six runs.

I've been using a 13" MacBook Pro (without Touch Bar) for six weeks now, and have found the battery life very impressive (I use Chrome rather than Safari).

[1]: http://www.consumerreports.org/laptops/macbook-pros-fail-to-...

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#34

Post by sprite »

bpicolo wrote: post #30
mgkimsal wrote: post #28

Had one for about 10 days, returned it for a variety of factors, but overall, it was a nice machine. But for my workload, I think I'll move to a 2015 if I can get the config I want - should be ~ $1000 cheaper for about 95% of the benefit (some weight, some speed, retina screen, etc). $3700 ($3500 + tax) ended up feeling just a bit too much for the speed/value. Apparently, though, if I wait a bit longer, we might see…

3700 in what currency? I'm seeing 2900 USD fully specced (though definitely still absurd) edit: I was looking at the 13, oops

The new 15 inch max specced is $4,299 + tax in the US.

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#35

Post by copperred »

otalp wrote: post #16
coob wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't seem fair to base a test on using Chrome when Apple bundles a more power efficient browser with the OS.

This is where it gets more bizarre. They did not use Chrome. According to their website: "We conduct our battery tests using the computer’s default browser—Safari, in the case of the MacBook Pro laptops." They proceed to find serious aberrations with battery life under Safari. Then they say, "Once our official testing was done, we experimented by conducting the same battery tests using a Chrome browser, rather than S…

Any issue fixable by software is a software issue.

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#36

Post by jsjohnst »

otalp wrote: post #27
mmjaa wrote: post #19

I've had mine for a week now, and have been able to use it alongside my late-2014 rMBP, which has been a solid workhorse. I'm starting to notice very subtle preferences for the 2017 model creeping in - after an hour of typing, for example, going back to the old keyboard feels really, really inefficient and antiquated, and my typing rate is lower than on the new rMBP. I also really enjoy the Touchbar - it hasn't been…

I appreciate the fact that they made the keys on the pro much more clicker than the MacBook. The butterfly keys on them seemed unusable for serious typing, though I've only used them in stores, so perhaps it takes getting used to.

The keyboard on the 12" MacBook does take getting used too. Took me about a week, but loved it once I got used to it. My only "complaint" is how noisy it is. When I'm typing fast in a meeting, it's quite noticeable to others.

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#37

Post by jsjohnst »

coldtea wrote: post #6
otalp wrote: post #2

> For instance, in a series of three consecutive tests, the 13- inch model with the Touch Bar ran for 16 hours in the first trial, 12.75 hours in the second, and just 3.75 hours in the third. The 13-inch model without the Touch Bar worked for 19.5 hours in one trial but only 4.5 hours in the next. And the numbers for the 15-inch laptop ranged from 18.5 down to 8 hours. What could possibly the reason for such drastic…

When they say: "ran for 16 hours in the first trial, 12.75 hours in the second, and just 3.75 hours in the third" they don't mean that each of the three trials consists of the same load. The mechanism sounds highly random too: "Consumer Reports tests battery life using a real-world test: They turn on the laptop's screen and surf webpages using Chrome. It's not a test based on benchmarking software or watching video t…

First off, the standard test uses the default stock browser, aka Safari, not Chrome. They switched to Chrome as an additional test and found the battery times to be far more consistent. Sounds more like a software issue to me than a hardware one.

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#38

Post by mgkimsal »

bpicolo wrote: post #30
mgkimsal wrote: post #28

Had one for about 10 days, returned it for a variety of factors, but overall, it was a nice machine. But for my workload, I think I'll move to a 2015 if I can get the config I want - should be ~ $1000 cheaper for about 95% of the benefit (some weight, some speed, retina screen, etc). $3700 ($3500 + tax) ended up feeling just a bit too much for the speed/value. Apparently, though, if I wait a bit longer, we might see…

3700 in what currency? I'm seeing 2900 USD fully specced (though definitely still absurd) edit: I was looking at the 13, oops

USD. 1TB 15" maxed out (well, except 1TB vs 2TB).

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#39

Post by bpicolo »

sprite wrote: post #34
bpicolo wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3700 in what currency? I'm seeing 2900 USD fully specced (though definitely still absurd) edit: I was looking at the 13, oops

The new 15 inch max specced is $4,299 + tax in the US.

Ah you're right, I had clicked the top end 13 on accident. That's just nuts. The upgrades are a real scam =/

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#40

Post by mgkimsal »

jxm262 wrote: post #31
mgkimsal wrote: post #28

Had one for about 10 days, returned it for a variety of factors, but overall, it was a nice machine. But for my workload, I think I'll move to a 2015 if I can get the config I want - should be ~ $1000 cheaper for about 95% of the benefit (some weight, some speed, retina screen, etc). $3700 ($3500 + tax) ended up feeling just a bit too much for the speed/value. Apparently, though, if I wait a bit longer, we might see…

32g next year? This is the first I've heard of that. Do you have any references?

http://mashable.com/2016/11/01/macbook-pro-2017-32-gb/

https://9to5mac.com/2016/10/31/2017-macbook-pro-rumors/

http://www.macrumors.com/2016/10/31/macbooks-2017-price-cuts...

"updates" say that "cannonlake" just won't be out, and there's no plans from apple on this, but this was the rumor mill a month ago. I not necessarily ruling any of this out, and we'll see in 6 months.

Post reply on HN